11/13/12: Mavericks chat with SportsDay beat writer Eddie Sefko

OK, I already made an error. Deleted a question about Carlisle being in trouble if the Mavericks end up in the lottery. Never mind that that's where that question belongs -- in the trash bin. He's just got a new contract and is two seasons removed from NBA title. Man has plenty of rope to work with.

If you've seen his level of play drop, you shouldn't be surprised. He's getting a reputation around the league and it's going to get harder for him to do what he does without opponents trying to take away his best assets. It's the rookie learning curve. We forgot about it around here because there haven't been any rookies worth watching for quite some time. Crowder still has a nice upside, as does Bernard James. Still waiting on Jared Cunningham to get his chance.

They weren't nearly as good as their 4-1 record. And they aren't nearly as bad as their 0-3 mark the last five days. At 4-4, that's probably about right. There's a reason why everybody in the country had them winning between 40-45 games and finishing seventh or eighth in the West. By the way, does anybody else think Shawn Marion being out has anything to do with this????

He's going to need another few days, at least. And when he gets back, the Mavericks will be better. Marion does a lot of things on the court. He knows how to score and he knows how to play defense and he knows how to rebound. He may not be great at all three. But he's good at all three. Right now, the Mavericks aren't very good at any of those things.

The question you have to ask with BW is whether what he gives you on offense is worth it when compared to what he's giving up on the defensive end. He's not a great defender, although he can block shots. And his rebounding has been very average at best. I advocated before Monday's game that Bernard James deserved to start, if for no other reason than he's a good per-minute rebounder, plus it was Veterans Day. For some reason, Rick didn't listen to me. Brandan Wright, as solid as he's been in most games, probably is best suited to be a backup on a good team. At 18-20 minutes, he can be very effective.

Good grief, people. Do you really think this situation is coaching-related? There are only a handful of coaches in the NBA I'd rather have than Rick Carlisle. And most of them are already working. The others have all had the benefit of multiple superstars to work with. Focus on the quality of players that are on hand.

I'm straining for a rational reason to play either one of them right now, to be brutally honest. Murphy is a gunner who can rebound a little, but is suspect defensively. Brand is an old warhorse, but it's debatable how much he has left in the tank after a pretty darn nice career. These guys in a perfect world would be coming off the bench to spell Dirk, Marion and Kaman, the preferred frontline that has yet to see one minute together.

No question. But it's not the kind of problem that fractures a locker room. It's more the type that comes from bringing a bunch of guys together who have no clue how to play with each other yet. It's going to take time. For now, they have some time. The biggest thing for this team right now is that they need a win over Washington Wednesday. Figure out a way to bank that game and then go to Indy and Cleveland, try to get a split and come home for three interesting games wrapped around Turkey Day. But it has to start with a win over the Wizards, who remain winless.

Ball movement is the essence of the Mavericks' half-court sets. But the problem is they are having to run too many of them because they can't get a stop or a rebound on the other end to spring the fast break. I think Collison has been one of the best players they've had so far. He's distributed the ball pretty well, scored OK and took a charge on Monday night. He hasn't been perfect, but he's pretty far down the list of problem areas. It would help if they could get some help behind him...Speaking of which, did anybody notice Roddy B with seven assists last night in minimal minutes?